SalesCenter Makes CRM Software 3-D

The hosted sales force automation vendor announces a new version of its application that features a relational database system designed to allow you to track sales data by company, individual or deal.

Touting what it calls the three C's of CRM, SalesCenter today announced a new version of its Web-based sales force automation application.

In addition to configuration and customization, Dave Dabbah, general manager for SalesCenter, said the company "provides a layer of consulting" for businesses that sign on to the service. "We do everything for the client. We spend so much time understanding their business, it's easy for us to configure the application."

SalesCenter 3-D targets businesses that have at least 10 people who are involved in sales and/or sales management. The company's minimum fee is $1,000 per month for 10 sales representatives, plus $500 for setup, so you do need to have a fairly sophisticated sales process for the service to make sense.

According to the company, highlights of the new version include configuration for your sales processes, customized reporting
manager's and sales rep.'s modules, unlimited notes and data storage, an automated follow-up system, parent-child data relationships, a revenue forecast engine, Outlook integration and integration with EmailLabs. (SalesCenter is owned by the same company that owns EmailLabs, a leading e-mail marketing company.)

The "3-D" in SalesCenter 3-D refers to its capability to allow for relationships to be created among Contacts, Companies and Deals databases. In addition to bringing all three database objects together, sales managers now have the foundation to create both multi-level reports and streamlined workflow processes for the entire sales organization, according to the company.

To search Companies, Contacts and Deal databases, Salescenter offers the A-Z Address Book & Quick Search, a built-in alphabetical address book that can be set up for searching. Quick Search can be configured to search any database field within the application and can be accessed within any page of the product.

Using the 3-D Relational Database System, the company claims, sales managers can link multiple deals and leads with a single contact located in the database. These interrelated databases provide up-sell and cross-sell opportunities across multiple contacts within a single company. Dabbah said sales managers can also "create a trigger." For example, he said, after more than five days without change in status, you automatically assign the account to another sales rep.

The Sales Manager Approval Process system provides sales managers with the option of creating an approval process during a sales cycle. With the permission-based system, managers have the control to verify purchase information and approve sales.

SalesCenter 3-D also has an Application Programming Interface (API) to allow for integration with third-party software, keeping the data consistent between SalesCenter and other systems such as financial services, healthcare, automotive, manufacturing and retail systems.